Need for project
The need for Dogger Bank South Offshore Wind Farms
In April 2022, the UK Government published the British Energy Security Strategy (BEIS and Prime Minister's Office, 2022). The strategy sets out an ambition to deliver an increased target of up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030. The Projects will make a significant contribution to the UK's aim of reducing carbon emissions and achieving this target. Based on an estimated combined capacity of 3GW, the DBS projects could be capable of generating enough electricity to meet the average annual domestic energy needs of around 3 million typical UK homes.*
At a local level, the East Riding of Yorkshire Council published its Climate Change Strategy in 2022 (East Riding of Yorkshire Council, 2022), identifying the Humber region as a flagship region for wind power. The strategy supports the development of wind power projects and highlights a need to “plan energy infrastructure developments efficiently.”
*Calculation based on 2021 generation, and assuming average (mean) annual household consumption of 3,509 kWh, based on latest statistics from Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (Subnational Electricity and Gas Consumption Statistics Regional and Local Authority, Great Britain, 2021, Mean domestic electricity consumption (kWh per meter) by country/region, Great Britain, 2021.
More detail about the projects and relevant national policies can be found in the PEIR chapters below:
Chapter 1 - Introduction Chapter 2 - Need for the Projects Chapter 3 - Policy and Legislative ContextClimate change
Offshore wind farms generate clean, green electricity powering millions of homes and businesses without burning fossil fuels. They have a vital role to play in the fight against climate change. While reducing greenhouse gases is key, the onus is also on developers to ensure new offshore wind farms are built responsibly and sustainably while employing the most efficient technology.
Details of the climate change rationale for the projects can be found in:
Chapter 30 - Climate ChangeEnergy security
The British Energy Security Strategy Policy Paper highlights the need to address our underlying vulnerability to international oil and gas prices by reducing our dependence on imported oil and gas. The efficiency of this transition is based on the delivery of renewable projects to reduce exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets.
The development of the Projects will help by generating clean, sustainable, and secure energy from within the UK, working towards meeting the UK’s needs for greater energy demand. This includes contributing to meeting the UK Government’s ambition set out in the 2022 British Energy Security Strategy to deliver up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.
Planning policies
The UK Government produced twelve National Policy Statements (NPS) setting out national policy. The Planning Inspectorate will assess proposals for major infrastructure against the NPS. The three NPS of relevance to the Projects are:
- EN-1 Overarching Energy, which highlights that there should be a presumption in favour of granting consent for projects which fall within relevant NPSs and recognises that offshore wind is a key factor in meeting UK policy objectives;
- EN-3 Renewable Energy Infrastructure, which covers national significant renewable energy infrastructure, including offshore generating stations in excess of 100MW;
- EN-5 Electricity Networks Infrastructure, which covers the electrical infrastructure in conjunction with EN-1.
The PEIR demonstrates how the development of the Dogger Bank South projects would comply with and support the policies stipulated by these statements. Between 30 March – 23 June 2023, UK Government ran a consultation on draft revisions to the NPS. The consultation is now closed and we await the publication of the revised versions. These will be taken into account by DBS as the Projects progress.
Regarding other planning policies, local authorities are required to prepare and maintain up-to-date Local Development Plans which set out their objectives for the use and development of land within their jurisdiction, and general policies for implementation.
The onshore project area falls under the jurisdiction of East Riding of Yorkshire Council. Relevant Local Development Plans have been considered during the onshore site selection for the project to mitigate conflict with site-specific planning allocations.
Employment and Supply Chain
The Projects will provide a valuable contribution to employment, as outlined in Chapter 28 Socio-Economics of the PEIR. During construction of the Projects, it is estimated up to 2,150 full-time equivalent jobs could be created. During the operation phase, it is expected that the Projects could employ 1,120 full-time equivalent jobs (under the assumption that all direct operations and maintenance employment would be directly employed by the Projects and based in the UK for the lifetime of the Projects). The Projects will also contribute to the development of the supply chain and skilled workforce and the associated economic benefits. The indirect effects of employment and expenditure such as from the workforce will contribute to the local economy.
There will also be significant expenditure in manufacturing, services, materials and equipment. Operations and maintenance of the projects could result in an annual total (direct and indirect) impact of £74 million Gross Value Added (GVA) in Humberside and £103 million GVA across the UK.
Read chapter 28 – Socio-Economics below:
Chapter 28 – Socio-EconomicsProject facts and figures
The Dogger Bank South (DBS) offshore wind farm projects are being developed for a shallow offshore area of the North Sea known as Dogger Bank, located over 100km off the northeast coast of England.
DBS comprises two separate sites, DBS East and DBS West. Each site is 500km2 in size.
Based on an estimated combined capacity of 3GW, the DBS projects could be capable of generating enough electricity to meet the average annual domestic energy needs of around 3 million typical UK homes.*
DBS East and DBS West have a combined proposed installation capacity of up to 3GW.
The cable landfall site is near Skipsea and is the point at which the offshore cables of the project connect with the onshore infrastructure.
Between 96 and 200 wind turbines will be installed across both projects.
Two High Voltage Direct Current converter stations will transport electricity from onshore cables into the national grid.
There will be up to eleven offshore platforms.
DBS is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). This means that the application is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for examination and the final decision is made by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.
*Calculation based on 2021 generation, and assuming average (mean) annual household consumption of 3,509 kWh, based on latest statistics from Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (Subnational Electricity and Gas Consumption Statistics Regional and Local Authority, Great Britain, 2021, Mean domestic electricity consumption (kWh per meter) by country/region, Great Britain, 2021.